While outward symbols of Christianity abound, they do not reflect a current faith. Just 1.3% of French people have an authentic relationship with Jesus. The prevailing worldview is secularism: not a temple-and-ritual religion, but a belief system all the same, one where God is no longer the authority and self has taken His place. The result: most French people go through life never personally knowing a single follower of Jesus, living in gospel “deserts” with no evangelical church nearby. Most French people have never encountered Christianity outside of historical Catholicism and rumors that Protestants and Evangelicals are “cults.”

Faith here is considered strictly private, and people are strongly averse to evangelism. Colossal empty cathedrals stand as reminders of real damage: the Crusades, eight religious wars, two World Wars, and terrorist attacks “in the name of religion” left deep spiritual wounds. This suspicion is reinforced by laïcité: France’s strict separation of religion from public life, written into the opening lines of the constitution. Meant as neutrality, it often breeds apathy, and even animosity, toward anything to do with God.

And yet… God is moving uniquely. Since 1970, over 1,400 new evangelical churches have been established! Still, 4,000 more are needed TODAY for people to have even minimal access to the Gospel (a church within 2+ hours drive). Our heart is to plant Spirit-empowered, contextual churches in the 10,000 towns that have no evangelical church. As one worker noted, inviting Secular friends to explore faith — much less visit a church — can be “death by a thousand rejections.” But God is birthing creative strategies for urban and rural plants that capture the French heart! With 530 churches, the French A/G is the largest evangelical denomination in France. It was born out of a healing revival in the 1930s and has been built through decades of sacrifice. We are partnering with them to see the vision fulfilled of planting 1,000 new churches by 2033. At a recent conference for teens and young adults, the 9,000 participants were challenged to consider joining a church-planting effort or surrendering their lives to engage in full-time ministry. We are also partnering to train those who responded. AGWM is grateful to partner with this vibrant, homegrown movement.

Today’s university students will become France’s next politicians, teachers, business owners, and parents: the culture-shapers who set tomorrow’s spiritual norms. University is a critical window, when people wrestle with who they are and what they believe. Yet in France, questions about God aren’t considered relevant enough to ask. Over 1,000 universities and colleges exist — and most have no Christian group reaching students. 2 Campuses are also home to 370,000 international students, some from countries with no access to the gospel at all. But God is stirring a fresh burden for students in pastors and churches across France.

A new law passed in 2020 eliminated religious worker visas entirely. This puts a huge financial burden on new missionaries who need to be employed by a Belgian company or organization at a high salary and pay high taxes just to have residency. We are attempting to tackle that problem by planting to training hubs just outside of Belgium at its northern and southern borders. (Longwy, France and Tilburg, Belgium). These training centers will not only serve as launching points for AGWM missionaries into the Ardennes area of southeast Belgium as well as all of Flanders and Brabant in the north for pioneering and planting work, but they will also be places of training for national workers as we partner with them to equip their young people to plant new churches and university ministries.